Origin
About 4 years back, first person shooter genre fans got a new title to drool over. The
game was F.E.A.R which set lot of benchmarking records, and subtle gamers were quiet
convinced with the game’s scary highlights. Action packed with a haunting background
gave the game that deciding flavour. It blended incredibly kinetic gunfights with creepy
atmosphere. In it, you played as the unnamed "point man" in a special military unit
tasked with dealing with paranormal threats. And in the game, an incident dealing with
a rogue military commander leading a clone army quickly escalates into something far
more catastrophic.
Plot
F.E.A.R. 2 begins about 30 minutes before F.E.A.R. ended, and you play as Michael
Becket, a member of a different Special Forces squad assigned to take a powerful
business executive into custody. The design philosophy of having dynamic, changing
battlefields seems like more of like a movie. Not surprisingly, the F.E.A.R. series was
deeply inspired by cinema.
Playability
The first time Alma, a haunting little girl from the original game, jumped out at me,
I got a good jerk. The next odd ninety times? Not so much. It's not only an overused
effect, but it's completely harmless so it's not the least bit scary. You'll also experience
hallucinations and see a lot of doors slam mysteriously but again, no harm so no fright.
The supernatural elements of the game are largely cosmetic and it's a shame. Couldn't it
have been better integrated into the normal action of the game? Why not throw some
troops at us during our little acid trips? The shooter side of the game and the survival
horror side don't really come together at all.
But all is not lost, especially when it comes model designing and ambience effects.
 
You will also have some teammates
to fight alongside in the early part
of F.E.A.R. 2, which is a slight
departure from the lone wolf game
play of the original. F.E.A.R. fans
will likely recognize the name
Jankowski. Range of ammunitions
is good. You also get the “slo-mo”, a
game play system which allows you
to move and kill in a slow motion.
Targeting is much easier and effect
is immaculate.
Game Design
But the level design is again a
fair bit of predictability, though to
F.E.A.R. 2's credit, you'll break away
from the endless office corridors of
the original and journey through a
greater variety of environments.
These areas are usually just as
expected, but they won't often
deliver that spine-tingling fear of the		 spectres lurking beyond the reach of
your flashlight. Trekking through
the rubble of decaying city streets is
a good change of pace, but the ultra
convenient manner in which the
debris holds you to your narrow
path is a familiar design ploy.
Similarly, there's no more
excitement to be found in F.E.A.R.
2's same-old subway than that of any
other game. It's at its best when it
leaves these stale tropes behind and
builds on its roots as a corridor
shooter, such as in a nail-biting
sojourn through the halls of an
elementary school that hides
unspeakable horrors.
Performance
F.E.A.R 2, does have a
respectable gaming engine with
some spectacular visuals, but
surprisingly game is easy on specs.

You can comfortably play with the
all eye-candy even with an entry
level system of today. My ATI
HD3850 didn’t sweat as much as I
anticipated, even at a resolution of
1680 X 1050. There were no
glitches or chopping to be found
either.
Verdict
I really had a good time playing
the F.E.A.R 2. But the levels are too
short especially for avid gamers. You
will probably finish up in not more
than 12 hours. Again don’t bother
with the multiplayer either. All in
all the game deserves to be played if
you enjoyed playing the original
F.E.A.R back in 2005


Rahul Devnath
BA (Journalism,
Psychology & English)